Wednesday, October 14, 2015

California Prison Story

"Man who says he was drug enforcer pleads guilty to murders" Associated Press October 07, 2015

VISALIA, Calif. — A man who says he was a cartel enforcer pleaded guilty Tuesday to nine counts of murder in California after acknowledging to investigators that he had committed killings across the country.

After being arrested in 2013, 53-year-old Jose Manuel Martinez opened up to investigators about his violent career that he said involved more than 30 killings.

However, authorities said he refused to name his cartel associates.The government didn't want him outing their agents.

Investigators said they believed Martinez about being an enforcer, even though they could not independently confirm his actions.

‘‘It’s not like you can go to a business front door and ask if Jose worked for you,’’ said Tulare County’s Assistant Sheriff Scott Logue. ‘‘There were whispers for a long time.’’

Logue said Martinez provided details of clothes, body positions, and the caliber of weapons involved in killings.

‘‘He was spot on almost 100 percent of the time,’’ Logue said.

No DNA evidence was used in the investigation, he said.

Martinez will be sentenced next month to life in prison without the possibility of parole under the terms of a plea deal that removes the possibility of the death penalty....Thought I would meet you halfway.

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday sued two former Air Force psychologists who designed a CIA program that used harsh interrogation techniques to elicit intelligence from suspected terrorists, saying the pair endorsed and taught torture tactics under the guise of science.

The lawsuit comes 10 months after the release of a damning Senate report that said the interrogation techniques had inflicted pain on Al Qaeda prisoners far beyond the legal limits and did not yield lifesaving intelligence.It never does; all it does is make a guy (or girl, or kid) say or sign whatever you want them to.

The suit accuses the psychologists, James E. Mitchell and John ‘‘Bruce’’ Jessen, of developing an interrogation program that relied on beatings, sleep deprivation, starvation, waterboarding, and other methods that caused suffering for prisoners in CIA custody.

Henry Schuelke III, a lawyer who has represented the pair, said Tuesday he did not have any comment.

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington state on behalf of three former prisoners. Gul Rahman was interrogated in a dungeon-like Afghanistan prison, subjected to isolation, darkness, and extreme cold water, and was found dead of hypothermia. Suleiman Abdullah Salim and Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, held in CIA prisons, were never charged and are now free."Was that at the Salt Pit?Almost that time of year again, isn't it?

"Guantanamo alternatives scouted in Colorado" AP October 13, 2015

MIAMI — A team of Pentagon officials began scouting sites in Colorado on Tuesday as potential alternatives to hold prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

The team planned to assess facilities at the Supermax Federal Correctional Complex in Florence and the state penitentiary in Canon City as places that could hold a ‘‘limited’’ number of detainees from Guantanamo, said Navy Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman.

They are looking at what changes would be needed to the Colorado facilities to detain prisoners and to hold trials by military commission, Ross said.Take a look at your new digs.Also see:

President Obama has sought to close Guantanamo since taking office, but has been thwarted by Congress, which has banned transferring prisoners to the United States and placed restrictions on sending them abroad.That's bull; it falls under the military and commander-in-chief prerogative and he could do it any day.

The Obama administration is seeking to lift the ban but faces opposition from some lawmakers, including members who are opposed to moving prisoners to their districts. Human rights groups and detainee advocates say they also object to continuing to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge at any location.

The United States holds 114 prisoners at Guantanamo, including 54 who have been cleared for release. The rest are facing trial by military commission or have been determined by the government to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges....And thus AmeriKa can never again waive human rights in others faces.

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